Mobile device display management

ABSTRACT

The display of a mobile device is managed during a voice communication session using a proximity sensor and an accelerometer. In one example, the display of a mobile device is turned off during a phone call on the mobile device when a proximity sensor detects an object is proximate the device and an accelerometer determines the device is in a first orientation.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/477,549, filed Sep. 4, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/097,004, filed Dec. 4, 2013 (now U.S. Pat. No.8,849,358), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/916,400, filed Jun. 12, 2013 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,626,248), which isa continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/656,019, filed Oct. 19,2012 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,478,353), which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/028,909, filed Feb. 16, 2011 (now U.S. Pat. No.8,320,970), the entire contents of each of which is incorporated hereinby reference.

BACKGROUND

Mobile devices provide the benefit of being portable while allowing auser to perform a variety of functions including various forms ofcommunication and computing. For example, some mobile devices arecapable of accessing the Internet, executing gaming applications,playing videos and music, as well as providing functionality of atraditional mobile, e.g. cellular, phone. As mobile devices are nottethered to a physical communication medium or stationary power source,such devices are generally powered by a rechargeable battery. Apersistent challenge in mobile device design is increasing the length oftime the device may operate without recharging the battery.

SUMMARY

In general, this disclosure is directed to techniques for managing thedisplay of a mobile device during a voice communication session, e.g.during a phone call. In one example, a method includes detecting, duringa phone call on a mobile device, an object proximate the mobile deviceusing a proximity sensor of the mobile device, determining, during thephone call, the mobile device is in a first orientation using anaccelerometer of the mobile device, and turning off a display of themobile device during the phone call in response to detecting the objectproximate the mobile device and detecting the mobile device is in thefirst orientation.

In another example, a mobile device includes a display, a proximitysensor, and an accelerometer. The proximity sensor is configured todetect an object proximate to the mobile device. The accelerometer isconfigured to determine an orientation of the mobile device. The devicealso includes means for turning off the display of the mobile deviceduring a phone call on the mobile device in response to the proximitysensor detecting the object is proximate the mobile device and theaccelerometer determining the mobile device is in a first orientation.

In another example, a computer readable storage medium includesinstructions for causing a programmable processor to turn off a displayof a mobile device during a phone call on the mobile device in responseto a proximity sensor of the mobile device detecting an object proximateto the mobile device and an accelerometer of the mobile devicedetermining the mobile device is in a first orientation.

The details of one or more embodiments of the disclosure are set forthin the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features,objects, and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from thedescription and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an example mobile device in accordance withvarious aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example frame of reference in which anaccelerometer of the mobile device of FIG. 1 may detect the orientationof the device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the mobile deviceof FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of managing thedisplay of a mobile device during a phone call.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example orientation vector of a mobile devicedetected by an accelerometer.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts illustrating examples of additionalfunctions associated with managing the display of a mobile device duringa phone call.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are plan views of two alternative example mobile devicesin accordance with this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure is directed to techniques for managing the state of adisplay of a mobile device during a voice communication session, e.g.during a phone call. The disclosure includes techniques for using aproximity sensor and an accelerometer to manage the mobile devicedisplay and only turn off the display during phone calls if theproximity sensor is active and the accelerometer indicates the mobiledevice is being held in a particular orientation.

Mobile device displays, e.g. mobile phone displays are often asignificant source of power drain on the battery of the phone. As such,disabling the display, e.g. turning the display off, whenever it is notin use, may extend the battery life of the phone, which may, in turn,increase the use of the phone and improve user experience. Some currentmobile phones employ a proximity sensor to manage a mobile phone displaywhile in call. For example, when in a call, an algorithm may force thedisplay to turn off when the proximity sensor detects that an object(e.g. user's head) is close to the phone. However, this approach maycause problems if the user attempts to use other features of the phonewhile in a call. For example, the proximity sensor of a mobile phone maybe located proximate the top left of the mobile phone display. If, forexample, a user of the mobile phone wants to look up something in emailwhile in a call, the user's finger may trigger the proximity sensor,which may cause the display to turn off while the user is attemptingview information and execute functions on the phone.

In order to address the foregoing issues, the examples included in thisdisclosure use both the proximity sensor and an accelerometer. In suchexamples, a mobile device, e.g. a mobile phone only turns off the phonedisplay if the proximity sensor detects an object proximate the phoneand the accelerometer indicates the phone is being held in a particularorientation, e.g., a vertical orientation. Such a vertical orientationcan occur if the phone is being held up against the user's head.Additionally, under certain circumstances, if the phone is being heldclose to another orientation, e.g., a horizontal orientation, which canoccur during a phone call, under common usage circumstances it may beassumed that the user is trying to access functions on the phone whilein the call and ignore proximity sensor signals such that the displayremains on until the phone is held upright again.

In one example, after a call is initiated on a mobile phone, a displaymanagement algorithm may detect whether there is an object proximate thephone with a proximity sensor and determine the orientation of the phonewith an accelerometer. If the proximity sensor is active, indicatingthat the phone is within some threshold distance from another object(presumably a part of the user's body), and if the accelerometerindicates that the phone is, e.g. vertical, then the display managementalgorithm will turn off the display. Thereafter, if the foregoingprocess has occurred to turn off the display during a phone call, thedisplay management algorithm may turn on the phone display regardless ofthe behavior of proximity sensor when the accelerometer indicates thephone moves to, e.g. a horizontal or near horizontal position. Thus, thealgorithm infers that the user has, while still in the phone call, movedthe phone from the head into a horizontal position to access phonefunctions and therefore needs the phone display turned on.

The following examples describe the use of a proximity sensor to detectwhen objects are proximate a mobile phone. The term proximate refers toa distance between the mobile phone and another object that is withinthe sensing range of a proximity sensor included in the phone such thatwhen the object is proximate the mobile phone, the proximity sensor isactivated. Additionally, the disclosed examples describe the use of anaccelerometer to determine the orientation of a mobile phone. In someexamples, specific orientations are described, including, e.g.horizontal and vertical. While the terms horizontal and vertical, aswell as other designations of orientation, may be relative, in thedisclosed examples such designations may refer to specific orientationsof a mobile phone relative to the earth. For example, vertical may referto a direction that is approximately perpendicular to the earth andhorizontal may refer to a direction that is approximately parallel tothe earth. Additionally, specific orientation designations may not, inthe disclosed examples, necessarily be exact. For example, a verticalorientation may refer to a mobile phone that is oriented approximatelyvertical, where the approximation may be defined by a specific tolerancewithin which the phone's orientation must lie to designate the phone inthe vertical orientation. Specific examples of determining theorientation of a mobile phone, including the use of approximations ofdifferent orientations are described in more detail below.

Although the following examples are described with reference to anaccelerometer determining a mobile phone in vertical and horizontalorientations as a basis for managing the display of the phone, otherorientations of the phone may form the basis for triggering differentstates of the display. For example, the phone may turn off the displayin response to, among other parameters, an accelerometer determiningthat the phone is in a horizontal orientation and may turn the displayback on in response to the accelerometer determining the phone is in avertical orientation. More generally, a mobile phone in accordance withthis disclosure may turn off the display of the phone during a voicecommunication session, e.g. during a phone call when a proximity sensordetects an object proximate the phone and an accelerometer determinesthe phone is in a first orientation.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of example mobile phone 10 including housing 12,display 14, a user interface, including keypad 16 and soft keys 18,speaker 20, microphone 22, external antenna 24, proximity sensor 26, andaccelerometer 28. As illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B described below,example mobile devices according to this disclosure may include a numberof different styles and forms than that of example mobile phone 10 ofFIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, display 14 is positioned at an upper half of housing 12 ofmobile phone 10. Display 14 may include any one or more of a liquidcrystal display (LCD), dot matrix display, light emitting diode (LED)display, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, touch screen,e-ink, or similar monochrome or color display capable of providingvisible information to users of mobile phone 10. Display 14 may providea user interface related to functionality provided by mobile phone 10.For example, display 14 may present a user with an address book storedon mobile phone 10, which includes a number of contacts. In anotherexample, display 14 may present the user with a menu of options relatedto the function and operation of mobile phone 10, including, e.g. phonesettings such as ring tones and phone modes, e.g. silent, normal,meeting, and other configurable settings for the phone.

Keypad 16 is in a bottom half of housing 12. In one example, keypad 16is an alphanumeric keypad that users may employ to enter phone numbers,contacts, and other information for use with mobile phone 10. Soft keys18 are positioned adjacent and below display 14. In one example, softkeys 18 may be configured to execute different functions on mobile phone10 based on, e.g., current functions and contexts indicated on display14. For example, one of soft keys 18 may correspond to a menu key as adefault option, from which a number of different functional optionsavailable on mobile phone 10 may be selected, e.g. looking up a contactin an address book stored on the phone. In one example, once soft key 18is selected to retrieve the address book and a contact is located, thesame soft key may change from a menu option to one of a number ofoptions for interacting with the contact data, e.g. editing theinformation for the contact in the address book stored on mobile phone10.

Mobile phone 10 also includes speaker 20 and microphone 22, which mayfunction to emit audible sounds to and receive audible input from users,respectively. For example, speaker 20 may be configured to emit thevoice of a person calling mobile phone 10 and microphone 22 may beconfigured to receive the voice of the user of mobile phone 10 to betransmitted to the person calling mobile phone 10. In FIG. 1, speaker 20toward the top of housing 12 above display 14. Microphone 22, on theother hand, is arranged toward the bottom of housing 12 below keypad 16.In this manner, the positions of speaker 20 and microphone 22 maygenerally correspond to a user's ear and mouth, respectively. In otherexamples, however, speaker 20 and microphone 22 may be arranged in otherlocations on housing 12.

Antenna 24 of mobile phone 10 extends up from the top of housing 12.However, in another example, antenna 24 may extend from a differentportion of housing 12 or may form part of the housing. Additionally, insome example mobile devices according to this disclosure, the antenna ofthe device may be internal and thus not visibly extending from any partof the device housing. Antenna 24 may function to facilitatecommunications between mobile phone 10 and other devices, e.g. othermobile devices, remote service provider networks and computing devices,and the like. As such, in one example, antenna 24 may be any of a numberof radio frequency (RF) antennas appropriate for use with mobile devicesand configured to transmit and receive RF communications, including,e.g., telephone calls transmitted over a cellular network.

Mobile phone 10 includes proximity sensor 26 and accelerometer 28.Proximity sensor 26 is arranged toward an upper corner of mobile phone10 within housing 12. Accelerometer 28 is arranged toward a lower cornerof mobile phone 10, also within housing 12. Proximity sensor 26 andaccelerometer 28 may be arranged in a number of different locations withrespect to mobile phone 10 in other examples according to thisdisclosure. Additionally, in other examples, one or both of proximitysensor 26 and accelerometer 28 may not be arranged within housing 12.For example, proximity sensor 26 may be connected to housing 12 and bearranged such that at least part of the sensor lies outside of thehousing.

Proximity sensor 26 and accelerometer 28, along with, e.g. a processorof mobile phone 10, may be configured to act together to manage display14 during a phone call made with mobile phone 10. In one example, aftera phone call is initiated on mobile phone 10, either an outgoing callmade to or an incoming call received by the phone, proximity sensor 26may be employed to detect the presence of an object proximate to mobilephone 10. For example, proximity sensor 26 may be configured such thatthe sensor is activated when an object is within a threshold distancefrom the sensor.

In addition to proximity sensor 26 detecting an object proximate mobilephone 10, accelerometer 28 may determine the orientation, e.g.horizontal or vertical, of the mobile phone during the phone call. Inone example, mobile phone 10 may be configured to turn off display 14when proximity sensor 26 detects an object proximate the mobile phoneand accelerometer 28 determines that the phone is in an approximatelyvertical orientation. The manner in which a proximity sensor andaccelerometer function in a mobile phone to manage the display of thephone during a voice communication session in examples according to thisdisclosure is described in greater detail with reference to the examplemethod of FIG. 4 below.

As noted above, while the terms horizontal and vertical, as well asother designations of orientation, may be relative, in the disclosedexamples such designations may refer to specific orientations of amobile phone relative to the earth. An example frame of reference inwhich accelerometer 28 may determine the orientation of mobile phone 10is illustrated in FIG. 2. In one example, accelerometer 28 may beconfigured to determine the orientation of mobile phone 10 in areference Cartesian coordinate system illustrated in FIG. 2, in whichthe Z axis is parallel to gravity vector, G, and the X and Y axes aregenerally parallel to ground 25, which may be the earth, andperpendicular to each other and to the Z axis. In the example frame ofreference of FIG. 2, vertical generally corresponds to an orientationthat is parallel to gravity, G, but in the opposite direction, i.e.directed away from instead of toward ground 25.

In the example of FIG. 2, the orientation of mobile phone 10 determinedby accelerometer 28 is represented by orientation vector, V_(phone). Themanner in which the orientation of mobile phone 10 represented by vectorV_(phone) is determined based on signals generated by accelerometer 28is described in greater detail below. However, in the example of FIG. 2,mobile phone 10 is represented in two different orientations in position27 and 29, respectively. In position 27, accelerometer 28 determines theorientation of mobile phone 10 represented by vector, V_(phone), asapproximately equal to vertical. In position 29, on the other hand,accelerometer 28 determines the orientation of mobile phone 10represented by vector, V_(phone), as approximately equal to horizontal.

The example of FIG. 2 is meant to illustrate a frame of reference inwhich the orientation of mobile phone 10 may be identified by relativeterms, such as vertical and horizontal. In some examples according tothis disclosure, the frame of reference in which an accelerometerdetermines the orientation of a mobile device, e.g. a mobile phone inorder to manage the display of the phone during a phone call may differfrom that shown in FIG. 2. However, the examples described below includeaccelerometers that determine orientations in a frame of reference inaccordance with the example of FIG. 2. Thus, vertical and horizontal insuch examples correspond to orientations that are treated as generallyparallel to gravity and perpendicular to the ground and generallyperpendicular to gravity and parallel to the ground, respectively.However, in practice, the orientation of mobile phone 10 may not beexactly or nearly exactly vertical or horizontal as represented byvector, V_(phone), in positions 27 and 29 in FIG. 2. Thus, FIG. 5 andthe associated description provided below illustrate how the orientationof a mobile phone may be determined with an accelerometer when the phoneis only approximately vertical or horizontal, e.g. as defined in theexample of FIG. 2, by employing a range of orientations within which thephone's orientation vector as determined by the accelerometer may lie todesignate the phone in a particular orientation.

In some examples, mobile phone 10, or another mobile device according tothis disclosure, may include more sensors than just proximity sensor 26and accelerometer 28. For example, a mobile device according to thisdisclosure may include multiple accelerometers. Additionally, a mobiledevice according to this disclosure may include a number of sensors foroperating a touch-screen display that is configured to receive tactileinput from a user to execute functions on the phone.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating example mobile phone 10 includingprocessor 30, storage device 32, display 14, user interface 36, e.g.including keypad 16 and soft keys 18, telemetry module 38, including,e.g., antenna 24, battery 40, speaker 20, microphone 22, proximitysensor 26, and accelerometer 28. Processor 30, generally speaking, iscommunicatively coupled to and controls operation of storage device 32,display 14, user interface 36, and telemetry module 38, all of which arepowered by rechargeable battery 40. Processor 30 may also be configuredto execute one or more of the functions associated with managing display14 based on information provided by proximity sensor 26 andaccelerometer 28.

Processor 30 may include any one or more of a microprocessor, acontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), orequivalent discrete or integrated logic circuitry. The functionsattributed to processor 30 in this disclosure may be embodied assoftware, firmware, hardware and combinations thereof. Although examplemobile phone 10 of FIG. 3 is illustrated as including one processor 30,other example mobile devices according to this disclosure may includemultiple processors that are configured to execute one or more functionsattributed to processor 30 of mobile phone 10 individually or indifferent cooperative combinations.

Storage device 32 stores instructions for applications that may beexecuted by processor 30 and data used in such applications or collectedand stored for use outside of mobile phone 10, e.g. object proximity andphone orientation data. For example, storage device 32 may storeinstructions executable by processor 30 for managing display 14 based oninformation provided by proximity sensor 26 and accelerometer 28.Storage device 32 may be a computer-readable, machine-readable, orprocessor-readable storage medium that comprises instructions that causeone or more processors, e.g., processor 30, to perform variousfunctions. Storage device 32 may include any volatile, non-volatile,magnetic, optical, or electrical media, such as a random access memory(RAM), read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM),electrically-erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, or anyother digital media. Generally speaking, storage device 32 may includeinstructions that cause processor 30 to perform various functionsattributed to the processor in the disclosed examples.

Generally speaking, storage device 32 includes memory that storessoftware that may be executed by processor 30 to perform variousfunctions for a user of mobile phone 10, including, e.g., making andreceiving cellular telephone calls or other communications like text ore-mail messages, using various software applications. The softwareincluded in mobile phone 10 may include telemetry and other hardwaredrivers for the mobile phone, operating system software, as well as anumber of third-party applications. The operating system software ofmobile phone 10 may be, e.g. Linux software or another UNIX based systemsoftware. In another example, the operating system software of mobilephone 10 may be Google's Android. In another example, mobile phone 10may include proprietary operating system software not based on an opensource platform like UNIX or Android. Mobile phone 10 also includesvarious applications 42 stored on storage device 32 and executed byprocessor 30, including, e.g., e-mail, calendar, contact management, andweb browser applications, as well as various types of third-party vendorapplications bundled with the phone.

Operation of mobile phone 10 may require, for various reasons, receivingdata from one or more sources including, e.g. application data stored onan application server remote from the phone, as well as transmittingdata or other signals from the phone to an external source, e.g.transmitting a user's voice during a phone call to another mobile phone.Data communications to and from mobile phone 10 may be handled bytelemetry module 38. Telemetry module 38 is configured to transmitdata/requests to and receive data/responses from one or more externalsources via, e.g. a cellular network. Telemetry module 38 may supportvarious wireless communication techniques and protocols, and includesappropriate hardware and software to provide such communications. Forexample, telemetry module 38 may include external antenna 24 shown inFIG. 1, as well as modulators, demodulators, amplifiers, and othercircuitry to effectuate communication between mobile phone 10 and otherdevices via, e.g., a cellular network.

Mobile phone 10 includes display 14, which may be, e.g., a liquidcrystal display (LCD), dot matrix display, light emitting diode (LED)display, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, touch screen,e-ink, or other display. Display 14 presents the content of mobile phone10 to a user. For example, display 14 may present the applicationsexecuted on phone 10 such as an e-mail or calendar application, as wellas information about the mobile phone, including, e.g., battery lifeand/or network signal strength.

User interface 36 allows a user of mobile phone 10 to interact with thephone via one or more input mechanisms, including keypad 16 and softkeys 18, as well as, e.g., a mouse, a roller ball, buttons, scrollwheel, touch pad, touch screen, or other devices or mechanisms thatallow the user to interact with the phone. In some examples, userinterface 36 may also include microphone 22 to allow a user to providevoice commands. Users may interact with user interface 36 and/or display14 to execute one or more applications stored on storage device 32 andexecuted by processor 30. Some applications may be executedautomatically by mobile phone 10, e.g. by processor 30, such as when thephone is turned on or booted up. Additionally, in some examples, usersmay interact with user interface 36 to configure application data and toexecute functions of applications stored on storage device 32.

Battery 40 provides power for all if the various components of mobilephone 10, and may be rechargeable. Examples of battery 40 include alithium polymer battery, a lithium ion battery, nickel cadmium battery,and a nickel metal hydride battery. The life of battery 40 of mobilephone 10 depends on many factors. Generally speaking, e.g., the life ofbattery 40 is affected by loads on the battery caused by using eithersoftware or hardware components of mobile phone. As different componentsof mobile phone 10, both different hardware and different softwarecomponents, draw different amounts of power, the load on battery 40 mayvary according to component usage patterns. For example, a backlight fordisplay 14 may draw more power than accelerometer 28 such that the lifeof battery 40 of mobile phone 10 may decrease significantly withincreased backlight usage, while being less impacted by increased usageof the accelerometer. In another example, the network access state ofmobile phone 10, e.g. 3G access, may require more power than anothernetwork access state, e.g. Wi-Fi access.

Display 14 of mobile phone 10 may draw a significant amount of powerfrom battery 14 when the display is turned on. As such, disablingdisplay 14, e.g. turning the display off whenever it is not in use mayextend the life of battery 40, which may, in turn, increase the use ofmobile phone 10 and improve user experience. As such, mobile phone 10includes proximity sensor 26 and accelerometer 28, which may beconfigured, in conjunction with, e.g. processor 30 to manage display 14while mobile phone 10 is in a call. Proximity sensor 26 andaccelerometer 28, along with, e.g. processor 30 of mobile phone 10, maybe configured to act together to manage display 14 during a phone callmade with mobile phone 10. In one example, after a phone call isinitiated on mobile phone 10, either an outgoing call made to or anincoming call received by the phone, proximity sensor 26 may be employedto detect the presence of an object proximate to mobile phone 10, e.g.the presence of a user's hand or head proximate the phone. For example,proximity sensor 26 may be configured such that the sensor is activatedwhen an object is within a threshold distance from the sensor.

Proximity sensor 26 of mobile phone 10 may be any of a number of typesof sensors that are configured to detect the presence of objects nearbymobile phone 10 without any physical contact. Proximity sensor 26 mayinclude, e.g., a capacitive, photoelectric, or inductive sensor. In oneexample, proximity sensor 26 may emit a beam of electromagneticradiation, e.g. infrared, and detect a return signal after the beambounces off an object near mobile phone 10. In another example,proximity sensor 26 may emit an electromagnetic or electrostatic fieldand detect changes in the field as an object proximate mobile phone 10enters the field emitted by the sensor. Proximity sensor 26 may beconfigured to sense objects up to a maximum distance from mobile phone10, which, in this disclosure, may be referred to as the range of thesensor or as a threshold distance at or within which the sensor detectsan object proximate the phone. In one example, the range of proximitysensor 26 may be adjustable. In any event, proximity sensor 26 may beconfigured to detect an object when the object is within the range ofthe sensor, i.e. when the object is a threshold distance away frommobile phone 10. In one example, proximity sensor is configured todetect an object when the object is a threshold distance that is greaterthan or equal to approximately 5 centimeters (cm) away from mobile phone10.

In addition to proximity sensor 26 detecting an object proximate mobilephone 10, accelerometer 28 may determine the orientation, e.g.horizontal or vertical, of the mobile phone during the phone call. Inone example, processor 30 of mobile phone 10 may be configured to turnoff display 14 when proximity sensor 26 detects an object proximate themobile phone, e.g. the head of a user of the phone and accelerometer 28determines that the phone is in an approximately vertical orientation.Accelerometer 28 may include, e.g., a three-axis accelerometer, capableof determining static orientation or vectors in three-dimensions. In oneexample, accelerometer 28 includes a micro-electro-mechanicalaccelerometer. In another example, accelerometer 28 may include apiezoelectric or capacitive accelerometer. In other examples,accelerometer 28 may be any other type of accelerometer capable ofdetermining the orientation of mobile phone 10. Additionally, in someexamples, mobile devices in accordance with this disclosure may employother types of devices in addition to or in lieu of an accelerometer todetermine orientation, including, e.g., gyroscopes, pressure transducersor other devices capable of determining the orientation of the mobiledevice.

In the foregoing manner, proximity sensor 26 and accelerometer 28 may beemployed to infer that the user of mobile phone 10 has, after initiatinga phone call, raised the phone to the user's head to listen and talk toanother person using the phone. In such circumstances, display 14 may beunnecessary and, thus, may be turned off to extend the life of battery40, as well as reduce the risk of the user's head inadvertentlytriggering functions of the phone in examples in which display 14 is atouch-screen. Additionally, by employing a proximity sensor 26 andaccelerometer 28, mobile phone 10 may be capable of distinguishingbetween the foregoing use-case and one in which the user's hand triggersproximity sensor 26 when, e.g. the user holds the phone out in front oftheir body to access other functions while in the phone call, e.g. tolook-up a contact in an address book stored on storage device 32. Inthis circumstance, the user of mobile phone 10 may need display 14active, e.g. turned on in order to access functionality on the phone.The manner in which a proximity sensor and accelerometer function in amobile device to manage the display of the device during a phone call inthese and other use-case examples is described in greater detail withreference to the example method of FIG. 4 below.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example method of managing adisplay of mobile phone during a phone call. The method of FIG. 4includes initiating a phone call using a mobile phone (50), detecting anobject proximate the mobile phone using a proximity sensor (52),determining an orientation of the mobile phone as approximately verticalusing an accelerometer (54), and turning off a display of the mobilephone (56).

The functions of the method of FIG. 4 for managing a display of a mobilephone while in a phone call are described below as carried out byvarious components of example mobile phone 10, and, in particular,proximity sensor 26, accelerometer 28, and processor 30 of the mobilephone for purposes of illustration only. In other examples, one or moreof the functions of the method of FIG. 4 may be carried out by otherdevices or systems that differ from mobile phone 10 in constitution andarrangement. For example, the method of FIG. 4 may be executed in wholeor in part by a different type of mobile phone, including, e.g. a mobilephone including a touch-screen display. Additionally, the method of FIG.4 may be executed by a mobile phone including more than a proximitysensor and accelerometer, including, e.g., a phone that employs a numberof sensors to operate a large touch-screen display. Finally, althoughthe example is described with reference to an accelerometer determininga mobile phone in vertical and horizontal orientations as a basis formanaging the display of the phone, other orientations of the phone mayform the basis for triggering different states of the display. Forexample, the phone may turn off the display in response to, among otherparameters, an accelerometer determining that the phone is in ahorizontal orientation and may turn the display back on in response tothe accelerometer determining the phone is in a vertical orientation.

The example method of FIG. 4 includes initiating a phone call using amobile phone (50). In one example, a phone call is initiated on mobilephone 10. For example, a user of mobile phone 10 may initiate anoutgoing phone call to another person, e.g. over a cellular network overwhich the mobile phone is configured to communicate. In another example,the user of mobile phone 10 may receive and accept a phone call on themobile phone from another person.

After initiating a phone call on mobile phone 10, the user of the mobilephone may behave in a number of ways while on the call. For example, theuser may hold mobile phone 10 up to their head to listen and talk to theother person on the phone call. In another example, however, the user ofmobile phone 10 may hold the phone out in front of their body to, e.g.,access other functions on the phone while in the call, including, e.g.,looking up a contact in an address book stored on storage device 32.Additionally, in one example, the user may first hold mobile phone 10 upto their head to listen and talk and, later in the phone call, hold thephone out in front of their body to access other functions on the phone.In these and other use-case examples, as illustrated by the examplemethod of FIG. 4, mobile phone 10 is equipped with proximity sensor 26and accelerometer 28 to manage the operation of display 14 during aphone call.

The method of FIG. 4 also includes detecting an object proximate amobile phone using a proximity sensor (52). In one example, after aphone call is initiated using mobile phone 10 (54), either an outgoingcall made to or an incoming call received by the phone, proximity sensor26 may be employed to detect the presence of an object proximate tomobile phone 10, e.g. the presence of a user's hand or head proximatethe phone. For example, proximity sensor 26 may be configured such thatthe sensor is activated when an object is within a threshold distancefrom the sensor. Proximity sensor 26 of mobile phone 10 may be any of anumber of types of sensors that are configured to detect the presence ofobjects nearby mobile phone 10 without any physical contact, including,e.g., a capacitive, photoelectric, or inductive sensor. Proximity sensor26 may be configured to sense objects up to a maximum distance frommobile phone 10, which, in this disclosure, may be referred to as therange of the sensor or as a threshold distance at or within which thesensor detects an object proximate the phone.

As noted above, in prior mobile phones employing proximity sensors, thedisplay of the phone may be turned off responsive only to a proximitysensor. In other words, in the event a proximity sensor detected anobject proximate the phone during a call, the phone assumed the objectwas the user's head and turned off the display. However, in somecircumstances, the object proximate the phone may be the user's fingeras the user, e.g. quickly looks up something in email while in a call,which may cause the display to turn off while the user is attemptingview information and execute functions on the phone. As such, examplesaccording to this disclosure include managing the display of a mobilephone by employing a proximity sensor in conjunction with anaccelerometer to determine the orientation of the mobile phone inaddition to the presence of an object proximate the phone.

In addition to detecting an object proximate a mobile phone using aproximity sensor (52), the example of FIG. 4 includes determining anorientation of the mobile phone as approximately vertical using anaccelerometer (54). In one example, accelerometer 28 may determine theorientation of mobile phone 10 as vertical during the phone call.Accelerometer 28 may include, e.g., a three-axis accelerometer, capableof determining static orientation or vectors in three-dimensions. In oneexample, accelerometer 28 includes a micro-electro-mechanicalaccelerometer. In another example, accelerometer 28 may include apiezoelectric or capacitive accelerometer. In other examples,accelerometer 28 may be any other type of accelerometer capable ofdetermining the orientation of mobile phone 10.

As noted above, in practice, the orientation of mobile phone 10determined by accelerometer 28 may not be exactly or nearly exactlyvertical, e.g. as represented by vector, V_(phone), in position 27 inFIG. 2. Therefore, in one example, mobile phone 10 and, in particular,processor 30 of the mobile phone may execute an algorithm, e.g. storedon storage device 32 to determine when the orientation of the phone asdetermined by accelerometer 28, while not exactly vertical, may beassumed to be vertical for purposes of managing display 14. For example,processor 30 may execute an algorithm that determines when mobile phone10 is approximately vertical by employing a range of orientations withinwhich the phone's orientation vector as determined by accelerometer 28may lie to designate the phone in a vertical orientation for purposes ofmanaging display 14.

In one example, accelerometer 28 of mobile phone 10 determines theorientation of the phone as a vector in three dimensions, which isrepresented in FIG. 5 as phone vector, V_(xyz). The orientation ofmobile phone 10, and, in particular, the vector, V_(xyz) is defined bythe magnitudes of the vector in the X, Y, and Z directions A_(x), A_(y),and A_(z), respectively, as well as the angles between the vector andeach of the X, Y, and Z axes (not shown in FIG. 5). In one example,processor 30 of mobile phone 10 executes an algorithm that approximatesthe orientation of the mobile phone as one of horizontal or verticalbased on the angle, α, between the phone orientation vector, V_(xyz),and the projection of the vector onto the horizontal X-Y plane.

For example, processor 30 may receive the magnitudes A_(x), A_(y), A_(z)of vector, V_(xyz) in the X, Y, Z directions, respectively in theexample of FIG. 5. Processor 30 may then calculate the magnitude,A_(xy), of the projection of vector, V_(xyz) in the X-Y plane accordingto the following formula.

A _(xy)=√{square root over (A _(x) ² +A _(y) ²)}  (1)

Processor 30 may then calculate the angle, α, between the phoneorientation vector, V_(xyz), and the projection of the vector onto thehorizontal X-Y plane as a function of the arc tangent of the magnitude,A_(z), of the vertical component of the orientation vector, V_(xyz) andthe magnitude, A_(xy), of the projection of the vector in the X-Y plane.For example, processor 30 may calculate the angle, α, according to thefollowing formula.

$\begin{matrix}{\alpha = {\arctan ( \frac{A_{z}}{A_{xy}} )}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

In one example, processor 30 approximates the orientation of mobilephone 10 as vertical when the angle, α, between the phone orientationvector, V_(xyz), determined by accelerometer 28 and the projection ofthe vector onto the horizontal X-Y plane is greater than 50 degrees.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the example method includes turning off adisplay of the mobile phone (56). For example, in the event proximitysensor 26 detects an object proximate mobile phone 10 and accelerometer28 determines the orientation of the phone as vertical, processor 30 ofthe mobile phone may infer that the phone has been raised to the user'shead to listen and talk to the other person on the call and may,therefore, turn off display 14.

In some examples, a mobile phone may apply hysteresis in the managementof the display of the phone, e.g. to reduce the occurrence of the phonerepeatedly toggling between turning the display on and off. For example,mobile phone 10, and, in particular, processor 30 may only turn offdisplay 14 in the event that accelerometer 28 determines the orientationof the phone as vertical for a threshold period of time. In one example,processor 30 may only turn off display 14 in the event accelerometer 28determines the orientation of the phone as vertical for more than 100milliseconds.

In one example of the method of FIG. 4, the mobile phone may employadditional parameters to determine whether or not to turn off thedisplay of the phone during a call. In one example, processor 30 isconfigured to check the manner in which the user is interacting withmobile phone 10 during a phone call before turning of display 14responsive to proximity sensor 26 detecting an object proximate thephone and accelerometer 28 determining the orientation of the phone asvertical. For example, processor 30 may be configured to determine theaudio input/output configuration of mobile phone 10 during a phone call,e.g. the manner in which the user speaks into the phone during the call.In one example, the audio input/output configuration of mobile phone 10may include at least one of speaking directly into microphone 22, usinga speaker phone function where the user holds the phone away from theirear and mouth by some distance and speaks into the microphone andlistens to responses from speaker 20, or the user speaks into a headsetwired or wirelessly, e.g. a Bluetooth headset connected to themicrophone of the phone. In one such example, processor 30 may beconfigured to turn off display 14 only when proximity sensor 26 detectsan object proximate mobile phone 10, accelerometer 28 determines theorientation of the phone as vertical, and the processor determines theaudio input/output configuration of the phone as the user speakingdirectly into microphone 22.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are flowcharts illustrating additional functions that maybe executed by a mobile device in examples according to this disclosureto manage the display of the device during a phone call. The functionsillustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 can be executed in association with theexample method of FIG. 4. In particular, each of FIGS. 6 and 7 representadditional functions that may be executed, e.g., after the functionsillustrated in FIG. 4 have been executed.

In the example of FIG. 6, after turning off the display of a mobilephone responsive to an object detected proximate the phone and theorientation of the phone determined as vertical, the mobile phone maydetermine that the object is no longer proximate the phone (70). Forexample, proximity sensor 26 may become deactivated after becomingactivated during a phone call using mobile phone 10 such that the sensordoes not detect the presence of any objects at or within a thresholddistance to the phone. In one example, processor 30 of mobile phone 10may be configured to infer that the object previously detected asproximate the mobile phone, e.g. the user's head in the example of FIG.4, is no longer near the phone in the event proximity sensor 26 becomesdeactivated.

In addition to determining that the object is not proximate the mobilephone (70), the example of FIG. 6 includes determining the orientationof the phone as horizontal. In one example, accelerometer 28 maydetermine the orientation of mobile phone 10 as horizontal during thephone call. However, as with the example of FIG. 4, in practice, theorientation of mobile phone 10 may not be exactly or nearly exactlyhorizontal. Therefore, mobile phone 10, and, in particular, e.g.,processor 30 of the phone may be configured to execute an algorithm thatdetermines when mobile phone is approximately horizontal by employing arange of orientations within which the phone's orientation vector asdetermined by accelerometer 28 may lie to designate the phone in ahorizontal orientation for purposes of managing display 14. In oneexample, processor 30 employs similar techniques described above withreference to FIG. 4 for approximating the orientation of mobile phone 10as vertical to approximate the orientation of the phone as horizontal.

For example, processor 30 may calculate the angle, α, between a phoneorientation vector, V_(xyz), determined by accelerometer 28 and theprojection of the vector onto the horizontal X-Y plane illustrated inFIG. 5 as a function of the arc tangent of the magnitude, A_(z), of thevertical component of the orientation vector, V_(xyz) and the magnitude,A_(xy), of the projection of the vector in the X-Y plane. In oneexample, processor 30 approximates the orientation of mobile phone 10 ashorizontal in the example of FIG. 6 when the angle, α, between the phoneorientation vector, V_(xyz), determined by accelerometer 28 and theprojection of the vector onto the horizontal X-Y plane is less than orequal to 50 degrees.

The example of FIG. 6 also includes turning on a display of the mobilephone (56). For example, if it is determined that the object is notproximate mobile phone 10 using proximity sensor 26 and accelerometer 28determines the orientation of the phone as horizontal, processor 30 ofthe mobile phone may infer that the phone has been lowered away from theuser's head to, e.g. access other functions on the phone and may,therefore, turn on display 14.

As with the method of FIG. 4, in some examples of the method of FIG. 6,a mobile phone may apply hysteresis in the management of the display ofthe phone, e.g. to reduce the occurrence of the phone repeatedlytoggling between turning the display on and off. For example, mobilephone 10, and, in particular, processor 30 may only turn display 14 onin the event that accelerometer 28 determines the orientation of thephone as horizontal for a threshold period of time. In one example,processor 30 may only turn on display 14 in the event accelerometer 28determines the orientation of the phone as horizontal for more than 500milliseconds.

Another issue in mobile phone display management is when to reactivate adisplay after a phone call has been terminated. In some cases,activating the phone display too soon after call termination may causeuntoward consequences, including, e.g. a user's head inadvertentlytriggering phone functions in examples in which the display is atouch-screen display. As such, in the example of FIG. 7, after turningoff the display of a mobile phone responsive to an object detectedproximate the phone and the orientation of the phone determined asvertical during a phone call, the phone call may be terminated (80).However, as illustrated in the example of FIG. 7, before turning on thedisplay (84) of the phone after the call is terminated, the mobile phonemay determine that the object is no longer proximate the phone (82). Inone example, a phone call on mobile phone 10 may be terminated afterproximity sensor 26 detects an object proximate the phone andaccelerometer 28 determines the orientation of the phone as verticalwhile the call was still active. In such an example, processor 30 ofmobile phone 10 may be configured to wait until proximity sensor detectsthat no objects are proximate the phone until the processor turns ondisplay 14.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate two alternative mobile phones in accordancewith this disclosure. FIG. 8A illustrates a hinged portable mobilephone, also with a keypad and display. FIG. 8B illustrates a mobilephone with a large touchscreen display that functions to present contentto and receive input from users, e.g. in lieu of a traditional numberkeypad or full QWERTY keypad employed on some mobile devices.

FIG. 8A is a plan view of example mobile phone 100 including housing 102with hinge 104, display 106, keypad 108, speaker 110, microphone 112,proximity sensor 114, and accelerometer 116. Mobile phone 100, includingproximity sensor 114 and accelerometer 116, may be configured andfunction in accordance with the disclosed examples in a manner similarto that described above with reference to example phone 10 of FIG. 1.Mobile phone 100, however, includes some variations from the previousexample. For example, mobile phone 100 includes hinge 104 in housing102. Hinge 104 may be configured to permit mobile phone 100 to assume anumber of physical configurations including the unfolded configurationshown in FIG. 8A and a folded configuration by folding the upper half ofthe phone including display 106 onto the lower half of the phoneincluding keypad 108. In any event, mobile phone 100, and, inparticular, proximity sensor 114 and accelerometer 116 may be configuredto manage display 104 during a phone call made with mobile phone 100 ina manner similar to that described with reference to phone 10 of FIG. 1and other examples described in this disclosure.

FIG. 8B is a plan view of example mobile phone 200 including housing202, touch-screen display 204, soft keys 206, speaker 208, microphone210, proximity sensor 212, and accelerometer 214. Mobile phone 200,including proximity sensor 212 and accelerometer 214, may be, as withphone 100 of FIG. 8A, configured and function in accordance with thedisclosed examples in a manner similar to that described above withreference to example phone 10 of FIG. 1. Mobile phone 210, however,includes some variations from the previous examples of FIGS. 1 and 8A.For example, mobile phone 210 includes touch-screen display 204.Touch-screen display 204, along with soft keys 206, may form part or allof a user interface for mobile phone 210. Mobile phone 210 may be anintegrated personal data assistant (PDA) and mobile phone, which aresometimes referred to as “smart phones.” In any event, mobile phone 200,and, in particular, proximity sensor 212 and accelerometer 214 may beconfigured to manage display 204 during a phone call made with mobilephone 200 in a manner similar to that described with reference to phone10 of FIG. 1 and other examples described in this disclosure.

The techniques described in this disclosure may be implemented, at leastin part, in hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. Forexample, various aspects of the described techniques may be implementedwithin one or more processors, including one or more microprocessors,digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or any otherequivalent integrated or discrete logic circuitry, as well as anycombinations of such components. The term “processor” or “processingcircuitry” may generally refer to any of the foregoing logic circuitry,alone or in combination with other logic circuitry, or any otherequivalent circuitry. A control unit including hardware may also performone or more of the techniques of this disclosure.

Such hardware, software, and firmware may be implemented within the samedevice or within separate devices to support the various operations andfunctions described in this disclosure. In addition, any of thedescribed units, modules or components may be implemented together orseparately as discrete but interoperable logic devices. Depiction ofdifferent features as modules or units is intended to highlightdifferent functional aspects and does not necessarily imply that suchmodules or units must be realized by separate hardware or softwarecomponents. Rather, functionality associated with one or more modules orunits may be performed by separate hardware or software components, orintegrated within common or separate hardware or software components.

The techniques described in this disclosure may also be embodied orencoded in a computer-readable medium, such as a computer-readablestorage medium, containing instructions. Instructions embedded orencoded in a computer-readable medium may cause a programmableprocessor, or other processor, to perform the method, e.g., when theinstructions are executed. Computer readable storage media may includerandom access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable readonly memory (PROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM),electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flashmemory, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a cassette, magneticmedia, optical media, or other computer readable media. In someexamples, an article of manufacture may comprise one or morecomputer-readable storage media.

In some examples, computer-readable storage media may comprisenon-transitory media. The term “non-transitory” may indicate that thestorage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal.In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data thatcan, over time, change (e.g., in RAM or cache).

Various examples have been described. These and other examples arewithin the scope of the following claims.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A method comprising: determining, by a mobiledevice and based on information provided by a proximity sensor, that anobject is proximate the mobile device, wherein the proximity sensor isconfigured to detect a presence of the object without any physicalcontact between the object and the mobile device, and wherein theproximity sensor detects when the object is within a threshold distancefrom the proximity sensor; determining, by the mobile device, that anorientation of the mobile device is a first orientation for at least afirst threshold period of time; after determining that the object isproximate the mobile device and that the orientation of the mobiledevice is the first orientation for at least the first threshold periodof time, automatically turning off a display of the mobile device; andafter turning off the display of the mobile device: receiving, by themobile device, one or more voice signals based on audible input receivedby a microphone of the mobile device, and after at least one of (a)determining that the object is not proximate the mobile device or (b)determining that the orientation of the mobile device is a secondorientation for at least a second threshold period of time,automatically turning on the display of the mobile device, wherein thesecond orientation is different from the first orientation.
 22. Themethod of claim 21, wherein the orientation of the mobile device isdetermined as approximately horizontal when an angle between a vectorgenerally parallel to a major surface of the mobile device and aprojection of the vector onto a plane that is generally perpendicular toa direction of gravity is less than or equal to approximately 50degrees.
 23. The method of claim 21, wherein the orientation of themobile device is determined as approximately vertical when an anglebetween a vector generally parallel to a major surface of the mobiledevice and a projection of the vector onto a plane that is generallyperpendicular to a direction of gravity is greater than approximately 50degrees.
 24. The method of claim 21, wherein determining that the objectis not proximate the mobile device occurs before determining that theorientation of the mobile device is the second orientation.
 25. Themethod of claim 21, further comprising: automatically turning off thedisplay of the mobile device in response to at least one of determiningthat the object is proximate the mobile device a second time using theproximity sensor or determining that the orientation of the mobiledevice is the first orientation a second time.
 26. The method of claim21, wherein the first threshold period of time is different than thesecond threshold period of time.
 27. The method of claim 21, whereindetermining that the orientation of the mobile device is the firstorientation or the second orientation is based on one or more signalsgenerated by an accelerometer of the mobile device.
 28. A mobile devicecomprising: a display; a microphone; a proximity sensor configured todetect a proximity of an object to the mobile device, wherein theproximity sensor is configured to detect a presence of the objectwithout any physical contact between the object and the mobile device,and wherein the proximity sensor detects when the object is within athreshold distance from the proximity sensor; and one or more processorsconfigured to: after determining that the object is proximate the mobiledevice and that an orientation of the mobile device is a firstorientation for at least a first threshold period of time, automaticallyturn off the display of the mobile device; after turning off thedisplay: receive one or more voice signals based on audible inputreceived by the microphone, and after at least one of (a) determiningthat the object is not proximate the mobile device or (b) determiningthat the orientation of the mobile device is a second orientation for atleast a second threshold period of time, automatically turn on thedisplay of the mobile device, wherein the second orientation isdifferent from the first orientation.
 29. The mobile device of claim 28,wherein the orientation of the mobile device is determined asapproximately horizontal when an angle between a vector generallyparallel to a major surface of the mobile device and a projection of thevector onto a plane that is generally perpendicular to a direction ofgravity is less than or equal to approximately 50 degrees.
 30. Themobile device of claim 28, wherein the orientation of the mobile deviceis determined as approximately vertical when an angle between a vectorgenerally parallel to a major surface of the mobile device and aprojection of the vector onto a plane that is generally perpendicular toa direction of gravity is greater than approximately 50 degrees.
 31. Themobile device of claim 28, wherein the first threshold period of time isdifferent than the second threshold period of time.
 32. The mobiledevice of claim 28, further comprising an accelerometer, wherein the oneor more processors are configured to determine that the orientation ofthe mobile device is the first orientation or the second orientationbased on one or more signals generated by the accelerometer.
 33. Astorage device storing instructions for causing at least one processorto: automatically turn off a display of a mobile device afterdetermining that an orientation of the mobile device is a firstorientation for at least a first threshold period of time and that anobject is proximate the mobile device using a proximity sensor, whereinthe proximity sensor is configured to detect a presence of the objectwithout any physical contact between the object and the mobile device,and wherein the proximity sensor detects when the object is within athreshold distance from the proximity sensor; after turning off thedisplay: receive one or more voice signals based on audible input, andafter at least one of (a) determining that the object is not proximatethe mobile device or (b) determining that the orientation of the mobiledevice is a second orientation for at least a second threshold period oftime, automatically turn on the display of the mobile device, whereinthe second orientation is different from the first orientation.
 34. Thestorage device of claim 33, wherein the orientation of the mobile deviceis determined as approximately horizontal when an angle between a vectorgenerally parallel to a major surface of the mobile device and aprojection of the vector onto a plane that is generally perpendicular toa direction of gravity is less than or equal to approximately 50degrees.
 35. The storage device of claim 33, wherein the orientation ofthe mobile device is determined as approximately vertical when an anglebetween a vector generally parallel to a major surface of the mobiledevice and a projection of the vector onto a plane that is generallyperpendicular to a direction of gravity is greater than approximately 50degrees.
 36. The storage device of claim 33, further storinginstructions for causing the at least one processor to determine thatthe orientation of the mobile device is the first orientation or thesecond orientation based on one or more signals generated by anaccelerometer of the mobile device.
 37. The storage device of claim 33,wherein the first threshold period of time is different than the secondthreshold period of time.